Notes from the vault
Essays on documents, succession, crypto inheritance and the quiet discipline of keeping a family in order. New piece most days.
Mirror wills: what they cover and what they quietly miss
Mirror wills are the default choice for married couples in England and Wales, but they leave several significant gaps that families rarely discover until it is too late.
The twelve documents every UK household should find in five minutes
From passports to lasting powers of attorney, knowing where your critical documents live is the quiet foundation of every well-ordered family estate.
Lasting Power of Attorney: what it covers and why people leave it too late
A Lasting Power of Attorney is one of the most consequential documents a family can hold, yet most people only think about it after a crisis has already begun.
Where to keep your will in the UK: a clear-eyed comparison
Knowing where your will is stored matters as much as what it says, yet most families leave this question unanswered until it is too late.
How to build an 'if I die tomorrow' file for your family
A practical guide to gathering the documents, contacts, account details and personal wishes your family will need if you die or lose capacity unexpectedly.
Dying without a will: how intestacy divides what you leave behind
When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, a rigid legal formula decides who inherits, and the result frequently bears no resemblance to what the deceased would have wanted.
How to value an estate for probate in England and Wales
Valuing an estate for probate means gathering every asset and liability, obtaining formal valuations, and completing the right HMRC forms before the grant is issued.
Tell Us Once: what the service does and what it misses
The government's Tell Us Once service removes a significant administrative burden after a death, but it covers far less than most families assume.
What an executor actually needs before applying for probate
Most executors discover too late that settling an estate requires far more paperwork than the will itself, and that gathering it can take months.
How to find out whether someone had life insurance after they die
Billions in life insurance benefits go unclaimed each year in the UK because families simply do not know the policies exist, here is where to look.
What happens to bank accounts when someone dies in England
From the moment a death is registered to the final release of funds, here is what families in England and Wales can expect from their bank.
Appointing a guardian for your children: what your will must do
Naming a guardian in your will is the single most consequential decision parents of young children can make, yet most delay it indefinitely.
Passport renewal in 2026: timings, costs and the post-Brexit validity trap
A quietly expired passport can derail a business trip or complicate estate administration; here is how UK renewal works in 2026 and how to ensure it never catches you unawares.
The expat document problem: keeping two countries' paperwork intact
For families split across the UK and Spain, losing a single document, a NIE certificate, a foreign property deed, can freeze an estate for months.
Dying abroad: what happens to your UK property when you live in Spain
For UK nationals resident in Spain, death triggers two legal systems simultaneously, and without the right election on record, neither may do what you intended.
Why one will is rarely enough when you own assets abroad
British expats with property or investments in two countries face a quiet legal trap: a single will that looks complete may leave part of the estate ungoverned or worse.
Helping elderly parents organise their papers without taking over
Starting the conversation about wills, LPAs and financial records is easier when you frame it as preparation rather than intrusion, and easier still when there is a clear place to keep everything.
Documents to gather before your house sale completes
Locating title deeds, certificates and warranties before completion day prevents delays and keeps your conveyancer, and your buyer, satisfied.
What to gather before your first divorce solicitor appointment
Arriving at a solicitor's office without the right paperwork adds cost and delay; here is what to assemble before that first conversation.
The paperwork that matters in a baby's first month
From registering the birth to claiming Child Benefit, the first four weeks bring a quiet avalanche of admin that is worth tackling methodically while sleep is scarce.
Writing a letter of wishes and why it differs from your will
A letter of wishes sits beside your will and speaks where legal documents cannot, guiding trustees and guardians through decisions no clause can anticipate.
Mirror wills for couples: what they cover and what they miss
Mirror wills are the most common estate-planning choice for married couples in England and Wales, yet they carry structural gaps that can redirect wealth in ways their authors never intended.
The twelve documents every UK household should find in five minutes
From passports to lasting powers of attorney, these are the twelve documents every UK household needs to locate quickly, and a calm method for organising them.
Lasting Power of Attorney: what it covers and why timing matters
An LPA gives someone you trust the legal authority to act for you, but it must be registered before it is ever needed, and many families discover that too late.
Where to keep your will so executors can actually find it
Choosing where to store your will matters as much as writing it, here is how each option compares on safety, cost, and findability after you are gone.
How to build an 'if I die tomorrow' file for your family
A practical guide to assembling the documents, account details, wishes and contacts your family would need if you were suddenly gone.
Dying without a will: how England's intestacy rules divide an estate
When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, a centuries-old legal formula decides who inherits, and the results frequently astonish the families left behind.
How to value an estate for probate in England and Wales
Valuing an estate accurately before applying for probate determines which tax forms you need, how much inheritance tax is owed, and how quickly the process concludes.
Tell Us Once: what happens when you notify the government of a death
Tell Us Once lets a family notify most UK government departments of a death in a single step, but several important gaps remain that executors must handle separately.
The executor's document checklist for settling an estate in England and Wales
Most executors spend weeks hunting for paperwork before probate can begin, here is what you need, and why so few families have it ready.
How to find out whether someone had life insurance after they die
Many UK families never claim life insurance payouts simply because they cannot find the policy, here is a methodical way to search.
What happens to bank accounts when someone dies in England
A practical guide to notifying banks, understanding account freezing, releasing funeral funds, and the paperwork required to settle a deceased person's accounts in England and Wales.
The documents that quietly expire while life is busy
A child's expired passport, a lapsed insurance rider, an unsigned power of attorney, each feels minor until the moment it becomes the only thing that matters.
What actually happens when a parent dies without a plan
Without a documented succession plan, families routinely lose months to probate, miss insurance payouts, and discover that crypto wallets have vanished permanently.
The kitchen drawer is not an archive
A rubber band, a manila envelope, and thirty years of irreplaceable documents: why physical storage fails families who live across borders and time zones.